Realizations
by PsychicDreams
Summary: Watanuki has a newfound respect for what Doumeki does.
1. Part 1

(Been awhile since I wrote xxxholic, but the idea came to me last night and would not be ignored. Probably stupid, but...thought I'd share)

Watanuki couldn't see anything. It was so dark with that black mist that choked at his lungs. This was all Yuuko's fault. It was supposed to be simple, but it never was. Just go to the park and pick up a broken jug. It was never that easy and he screamed as he felt something rake at his leg. "Doumeki!" he cried out, flailing his arms. Even if he couldn't see anything, he knew his eyes were hazy and his lungs hurt, trying to breathe in the polluted air.

"Oi!" He heard the calm voice somewhere behind him and managed to get to his feet, not sure when he had fallen to start with, and stumbled over. He rammed right into a body that he could feel by the very firmness of his chest was his rival. As soon as he touched him, some of the mist began to clear. He could actually see the archer he was clinging to and a few paces in front of him. At least he could breathe a little easier. His lungs had felt like they were going to seize up any minute.

"Keep looking at it."

"Why?!" he demanded. He didn't want to have to even think about that creepy, disgusting thing made of just eyes and limbs, much less look at it ever again!

"So I know where to aim."

The unruffled calm of Doumeki got under his nerves…but right then it was sorely needed. He was too busy panicking right then to have any coherent type of thought. "Hurry it up then!" he spat as he unwillingly turned his gaze toward the mass in the center of the playground so that Doumeki could see out of their combined eye.

He shifted, gripping all along that firm chest and to his shoulders and moved to cling to his back. Watanuki knew right then that if he let go, he'd pass out. He tried not to move too much only to let out a yell, causing Doumeki to stumble, when something caught his ankle in sharp teeth. The edge of the boy's bow slammed into whatever it was, causing it to let go.

"I can't…aim like this," Doumeki muttered and yanked him to the front, bracing Watanuki's back against his chest. It was appreciated, though he'd never, ever say that, because it was keeping him up with his two wounded legs. It was only when he found one hand gripping the handle of the bow and another grabbing his other hand.

"What are you doing, Doumeki?!" he screeched.

"Shut up and just listen to me," the boy murmured into his ear, his breath ruffling his hair. He shivered before he could help it. That gloved hand, still in his club archery gear, was over his both on the shaft and the string of the bow. "Center yourself. Stare at the target. Don't let your gaze shift." Feet nudged at his, separating them in mimicry of Doumeki's. "Calm down. Breathe." Their touch was keeping him conscious and supporting him.

Slowly Doumeki began to pull back the string and Watanuki was amazed at the sheer force necessary to pull that longbow back. Doumeki was doing the hard work, his hand was just going with because of their combined grip…and it still felt like it was straining his muscles. The hand on the shaft squeezed his as the bow began to shake from the sheer force. That Doumeki held such…_power_ in his hands. He had never considered just how much it took to use this and what…discipline. Doumeki had dedicated his life to the bow and it showed. He was stronger than he would have expected because of it and it was no wonder he was never afraid—

"Feel my heartbeat, Watanuki. Count them."

How could he be so calm?! His heartbeat wasn't racing like Watanuki's was and somehow just counting the quick, but mostly calm heartbeats centered him. He began to tune out everything around him, just staring down at the roiling mass that was slowly trying to get moving toward them. Doumeki's body heat was invading him and he took strength from the sheer grip of the boy's hands. It was that heartbeat that he kept counting even as the number kept higher that allowed him to hold the bow steady, his fingers twined with Shizuka's.

"Now."

The word was barely whispered, right into his hair, but Watanuki heard it. He let go at the precise moment that Doumeki did and arrow, a beam of golden light, burst from the bow. If he could have, he would have held his breathe in awe and hope that he didn't throw off the archer's aim at all.

It held. He should have trusted the boy better. It landed center mass and there was an unearthly scream from the spirit as it dissipated, taking the black smoke with it. Suddenly he was breathing in clean, clear air. Forgetting the pain in his legs, he turned his head enough to look up at Doumeki's face, unable to hide the awe that he was feeling. He was only going through the motions and that was a pale imitation. Suddenly, he had more than a budding respect, he had awe of the boy that had mastered such an art.

He felt pressure at his waist as the hand that held the string back had wrapped around his hips and he realized then that he needed it. His ankle and calve was screaming at him in pain and he would have fallen if he didn't have the support. "…Bet…you practiced…that move…with all the…girls…"

"No. That was the first time I've ever fired with someone in front of me like that." There was a pause and a slight smile came to Doumeki's lips. "We made a good team."

"…No argument," he said, the only thing that came to mind as the silence filled. For the first time, he had…protected himself. Doumeki had…let him. An answering smile finally touched Watanuki's face for the first time as he looked at the archer. "We really did."

Doumeki stared at him for a long moment and was it his imagination that the arm around his waist tightened just a little? The bow they both still held lowered. For one terrifying moment, he thought they might actually k-k-kiss—

"Should I carry you too?"

The moment shattered, Watanuki shouted, "_You bastard!_"


	2. Part 2

(Just had an idea and wanted to continue it. Set after the main series, before xxxholic rei)

_What a nostalgic memory_, he thought, pulling the pipe from his lips and tilting his head as he heard heavy footsteps on the floorboards. Not a moment later, the spitting image of his high school friend came around the corner. He'd never tell him, of course, but his parents had come to him when they found out that his mother couldn't conceive. It had been a great tragedy to him on a personal level, so he had wanted to help more than anything. Thankfully the price was only one: they had to name him Shizuka.

Watanuki smiled serenely at the college student as he sat down next to him. He was even taller than Doumeki was originally, but there were so many similarities to his friend… Sometimes even Watanuki didn't know how a wish was accomplished, still too new at this even after a hundred years and the original Doumeki had been dead before they'd come to him…

He shivered a little at the thought. He had never told Doumeki his feelings. By the time he was ready to accept them, his secret love had married Kohane. He'd wished them all the best, but his heart hadn't been in it. He'd been…unable to wish them as well as he wanted. Up until he'd found out that they were going to marry, he had entertained hope. He had sworn that he thought he saw deeper emotions in those golden eyes…but it had never materialized.

"Do you still speak to Haruka?"

He looked up, breaking from his memories to the young man next to him. "I do. We're good friends. He's a comfort." There was a long silence. "What is it?"

The boy shook his head, but he swore he heard the words, "Never thought I'd have to compete with a dead man...and my grandfather…"

Watanuki was pretty sure he wasn't meant to hear that, so he pretended he didn't. "Did you say something?"

"No."

"Say, Doumeki."

Doumeki looked at him as he set down a sake bottle. "What?"

"Have you ever tried to shoot your bow with someone else in front of you?"

There was a long pause and he wondered at it. What sort of reasoning could there be for a pause like that for so simple a question? "No."

"You should try it with someone you care about," he suggested, thinking back fondly over feeling himself pressed against that chest, the bow pulled taut despite what he was very sure was awkward for his friend.

"Then do you want to try it?"

He blinked, the words stunning him and he looked over. "What?"

"Do you want to try it?"

His eyes grew warm as he looked at the person that reminded him so much of the only one he'd ever truly loved in a romantic sense. "I would, I think. Do you have the thimble?"

"Yes." Now Watanuki noticed that it was fitted on his index finger. Had it always been there? Now that he thought back…it had, hadn't it?

Watanuki, dressed in a flowing kimono, stood up and moved in front of him. It felt…warm to be pressed against that chest and mentally cursed his shorter height. Doumeki was at least a head taller than he was, much taller than great-grandfather. He reached out for the shaft and a strong hand gripped over his, forcing their fingers to twine. That was…an amazingly strong grip. Maybe it had just been so long since he'd been touched, but he had not thought that there would be such strength in the hold.

Almost like a caress, Doumeki took his other hand before pulling back the string. It forced Watanuki to be flush against the boy behind him, shifting his feet to match his stance so he could brace himself correctly. His form was barely anything at all, he'd only done this one other time…

"Breathe. Focus on my heartbeat."

Without a monster trying to eat him, it was a lot easier to do so. His world had narrowed to Doumeki's heartbeat, counting and trying to keep his own magic from getting in the picture. His right eye glowed golden and unknowingly to him, so did Doumeki's. He stared at a point in front of him, at the gate. The string was pulled back.

This time the arrow was so bright he had to half close his eyes so he wasn't blinded. It dissipated as it hit the ward and he smiled a little. So nostalgic…

"Better than last time."

He blinked and looked up, only to gasp at seeing that right eye slowly losing its glow. How was that possible? His eye had matched Doumeki Shizuka of a hundred years ago. This was his great grandson, how was it— "Doumeki…?"

Doumeki sighed and stepped back, ruffling his hair a little. "I didn't know how to tell you."

"Tell me what," he almost demanded, his heart beating painfully against his ribcage in his chest.

"Remember what she said? Nothing is a coincidence."

"I remember. Tell me what."

"You think it's a coincidence that my eye glowed? You think it's a coincidence I know that you've done that before with my great grandfather? A 'coincidence' that I was named Shizuka?"

"…There are no coincidences."

Those eyes looked at him again, sliding over to his face without moving his head. "Then you figure it out."

"…Doumeki Shizuka. You're…" When the man nodded, he felt almost faint. Doumeki…_reincarnated_?!

"I've known since I was seven. I have all the memories that he had." There was a pause and the bow disappeared just in time for the man to reach out and wrap his arms around Watanuki's hips. "I suppose I should tell you, he…we love you. He married Kohane because he knew he wouldn't live as long as you and he wanted you protected. She loved you enough that she agreed. You…couldn't have children with him."

He felt his lungs seize up in shock and he almost gasped as caught his breath. "What about Kohane?!"

"She knew of his feelings."

"And she agreed?!"

"To keep you safe? Yes."

"I-Idiots! T-To do that!" He tried to push himself from Doumeki's arms, but they held him firm. "That doesn't explain why you're here!"

"Didn't my parents come to you, saying they couldn't have children?"

"Yes—Wait, how did you know?"

"Because they lied."

"Lied? That…isn't possible. Their wish was to have a child! If they could have children then they couldn't have entered!" Surely he would have seen through them, to their real wish, when they in the shop?!

"You granted their wish."

"Yes! They wanted a child!"

"And didn't you wonder why they didn't argue with naming me Shizuka?!"

This time he got free and glared at Doumeki in anger that he normally didn't feel. "Are you saying that I don't know my own craft, Doumeki Shizuka?!"

"No. I'm saying that…your personal feeling had a place. You felt their wish, didn't you? In your heart. My father loved…him very much." There was that ruffling of his hair again that was uniquely THIS Shizuka. "I have trouble referring to him as myself. They both did. They wanted me back. You wanted to make their wish come true. You did."

"It's too far-fetched, Doumeki! That I wouldn't notice what their real wish is, that I could somehow manage to get your soul back like that, that they could _ever_ afford the price for that…!"

"Yet here I am."

"This is a cruel joke! You can't be—"

Doumeki's eyes grew a bit harsh, and he said bluntly, "Shall I tell you something that only I would know then?"

"How is that possible?! Everything you—he ever did for me was passed down to his children, you'd know about it from hearsay!"

"February sixteenth, the year you'd turn seventeen in a few months. Kunogi couldn't make it for lunch that day. You cooked fried shrimp and yelled at me because the night before I was late getting to the temple and you were waiting there at the pond in the backyard." Watanuki remembered that scene vividly because those days of his life were enshrined. They were when Yuuko was alive and he was the happiest he'd ever been. "The only time we shot the bow together before now. We were alone in the park. It was pitch black. Your ankle and calf were injured. When we fired the bow, you looked up at me with…" For the first time Doumeki's voice faltered and he looked away. "You were staring at me with…amazement. Our lips were centimeters from touching. My arm was around your waist to hold you up. I could almost feel your breath and I almost kissed you. Instead, I asked if I needed to carry you home and you yelled that I was a bastard."

Watanuki had never told anyone that they were so close to kissing then. He had never told anyone what Doumeki had said to set him off. The incident itself was so minor, really, in comparison to some of the other things that had happened in their lives, why would they tell their children about it? Watanuki didn't think, considering how he was reacting, that it was something Doumeki was entirely comfortable speaking about.

"This is impossible," he muttered, sitting down on the porch to the shop as if his legs couldn't hold him up any longer. "I can't…have not noticed…"

"They were related to Kohane and I. You weren't thinking straight. That doesn't mean that you're not an amazing wizard."

Watanuki didn't say anything for a moment before he looked up at him. "Why didn't you?"

"Didn't I what?"

"Kiss me then."

There was silence as Doumeki sat down next to him, but didn't reach out to touch him. "I don't know. Part of me—of him—has always regretted not doing it. Not…pursuing you…but he thought he had more time. When Yuuko disappeared and you took over the shop, when he found out that you'd live so much longer than him…he knew that he was too late. There was no chance at that point. He'd die, and really, would you ever consider it knowing what would happen as you failed to age? So he made an agreement with Kohane. He told her everything and she agreed. She feared for your safety as did he. They both loved you and wanted you safe."

"And what do you think this is going to accomplish?" he argued, feeling his cheeks heating in a blush. "You're _still_ male! You'll still die like he did! Why did you tell me this at all?!" It hurt, now, knowing that the one he loved was in front of him, but nothing had changed at all. Everything that Doumeki had said was true and that hadn't changed.

"Because I'm not as selfless as he was. I was him…but I'm not now, not entirely. I'm not going to give up so easily."

"What do you think you can do?"

"Don't know…but I've got a few people I can ask." After a minute, Doumeki gave him a stern look. "And I've got a message for grandfather."

"Haruka-san? What is it?"

"Tell him you're mine."

"_Doumeki!_"


	3. Part 3

(This is turning into mostly a collection of onehots that function as a story. Figures I can't write just once :P)

"Haruka-san, please stop laughing!" Watanuki whined, glaring plaintively at the man next to him dressed in his habitual kimono. The man was almost convulsing in mirth. It was quiet, like most of him, not loud guffaws, but it was still annoying. A blush was still faintly on his cheeks and he twisted his lips in a pout at the spirit.

It took several more minutes before Haruka had composed himself enough to speak, wiping tears from his eyes. "So?" he said after a minute, gesturing for him to continue. "What happened then?"

"That's… Well, that was it. He said that it was best to let me think and he left."

"You sound disappointed," he commented, resting his chin on his knee.

Watanuki flushed and crossed his arms. "I'm not. I just… I didn't expect this at all. I also didn't expect him to accuse you of…of…flirting with me!"

"I have been told I'm quite charismatic," Haruka teased with a soft smile. "You see me often and we are identical in appearance. Of course Shizuka would be concerned."

"Haruka-san," he whispered, ignoring the entire tease as he felt the concern still weighing on his mind. "This isn't…going to be any different now than then. Doumeki's reasons a hundred years ago remain as valid and fresh now as they did then. He's a man and so am I…and it's only through a wish that I could…lengthen his life and I don't think he can pay the price for what that would entail."

There was a long moment of silence before that soothing voice hit his ears again, eyes staring in the distance but not seeming to really seeing anything. "To gain great happiness, there was must be an equal amount of risk involved, not unlike how a wish requires a certain level of payment." Those eyes turned to him. "Shizuka didn't need your store when he was a teenager because he was determined to find a solution on his own even if she told him it was impossible. He was only able to enter after because _you_ needed him before, when you couldn't leave. I have no doubt now that he will not limit his search for a solution to the problem just to your store, Watanuki."

"That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered, sighing. When he opened his eyes again, he was in his bed, seeing the sunlight streaming in through the window. "That's what I'm really afraid of, Haruka-san."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Watanuki was lounging in his habitual sofa, pipe perched delicately against his lips and staring at the smoke above him, when the doors opened. He flicked his gaze over, noting a young man that seemed highly nervous to be there. His black hair lightly brushed his neck and for a brief moment it was almost like looking back in time at himself. Then he noticed that the eyes that darted around, as if ready to run, were dark brown instead of blue, and he was not built quite as thin as himself.

"Welcome to my shop," he murmured, sitting up a bit. What he wore was not a school uniform, but jeans and a jacket. Yet looking closely at him, Watanuki could only see 'university student' stamped on his forehead. "You are?"

"Takagi Seishu," he muttered, risking a glance up at the sorcerer and then away almost instantly.

"Pleasure to meet you, Takagi-kun," he said with a soft smile. Where Yuuko had appeared mysterious and frightening to those that met her, Watanuki's smile had always been welcoming and gentle, inviting people in. It was why often those that came underestimated his power because of that. It wasn't immediately noticeable.

There was a heavy silence before cautious eyes looked at him again. "You said this was a shop. What kind of shop?"

"I grant wishes, for a fair and equal price," he replied serenely. "You have one."

"I do?"

"You were able to enter. That means you were meant to be here." He sat up, resting his chin against his hand. "What is it you wish for?"

"I…" Those fingers tightened into a fist, and he bit his lip before boldly stating, "Can you resurrect someone?"

That…was not what he was expecting. It was not every day that he heard someone ask him to bring someone back to life. His gaze grew serious. "Takagi-kun, everything dies eventually."

"It wasn't his time!" Takagi argued heatedly. "It was that drunk driver! It wasn't his time to go! My brother—he wasn't supposed to die!"

Watanuki could see the grief that wracked the young man and he felt sympathy flood him. He wanted to help so badly…but he couldn't give him what he wanted. Disregarding the fact that he wasn't entirely sure if he _could_ bring someone back from the dead, Takagi could definitely not afford the price. "I can't."

"You said you'd grant my wish!"

"If you could pay the price. You can't afford it," he added more gently.

Takagi broke down, dropping to his knees and Watanuki couldn't help but move over to him, resting a hand on his head to comfort him. "Bringing him back…isn't what you really wish for, is it?" He studied the sobbing person in front of him. "What do you want most?"

"I wish it had never happened! I wish I had convinced him to stay home! To let someone else go in to work that day!"

Could he grant that wish? It would be a very hefty price, to rewrite the last two weeks. He couldn't just change the past, rewrite it willy-nilly…but perhaps he could give something to Takagi that would allow him to change the course of events so that it would be successful? Watanuki stood up and left the room, only to return a moment later with a small, smoky glass ball. "Takagi-kun." He waited until brown eyes met his. "To fulfill your wish, I can give you this. If you place it under your pillow at night when you sleep it will give you, just once, the chance to save your brother's life. Will you take it?"

"Yes!" There was a pause. "But what's the price?"

His mismatched eyes remained fixed on Takagi's. "You will never walk again once you use this. Will you still take it?"

The silence that fell between them was oppressive and seemed to last forever…but finally Takagi stood up and took the ball. "…I will."

"Maru, Moro. Escort Takagi-kun out."

"Yes, Master!" they chimed and took the boy's hands, leading him out of the shop.

"Seems a low price for what he asked for. Are you going to get hurt again?"

Watanuki looked at the shadows near the door and saw Doumeki's large frame. "Takagi-kun is a track star. He's also at his university on a full scholarship. If he loses his ability to walk, much less run…his whole future is changed. The life that he would have had is gone completely. He gave up his future for his brother."

"How do you know that?"

He just gave Doumeki a mysterious smile.

"You're getting as bad as Yuuko with that smile," his friend muttered, stepping into the room and sitting down as if he owned the place.

"And? What are you doing here? You've been gone for two weeks. I began to think you weren't coming back."

"Did you miss me?"

"Why would you think that?"

"…Intuition."

"Now who's cryptic?"

Doumeki snorted in amusement as Watanuki returned to his sofa and stretched out. He blinked as he felt hands touching his ankles and calves, looking at the former priest in surprise. A faint bit of red splashed on his cheeks, but Doumeki did nothing more than idly touch. "Found your answers?"

"No…but I've got time," was the calm reply as lips joined the fray, touching his ankle in a caress. Golden eyes looked at him with the same intensity of his teenage days, completely at odds with the gentleness being displayed with his hands and lips.

"Doumeki…" he muttered, trying to put a warning tone in his voice that was completely ignored. "Do you have an ankle fetish?"

"…It's more like a Watanuki-fetish."

He groaned and dropped his hand over his eyes, muttering, "I can't believe you just said that," only to squeak when a small kiss was placed on his toes. When he considered pulling his feet and legs away, Doumeki's hands just slightly squeezed, telling him to stay put. As embarrassing as it was, Watanuki had to admit that what he was doing felt…good and he couldn't bring himself to disobey. "What are you doing, Doumeki?" he murmured, eyes alternating from staring at the ceiling to the man that was assaulting his ankles, toes, and calves.

The truth was, Watanuki no longer understood where they were. Their feelings were in the open. They were both very aware of how they felt in the past, and the problems. He just didn't know what to do about it now. It was clearly not going to go back to how it was; the tension between them couldn't just remain. Doumeki wasn't going to let it remain untouched. Even more than that, Watanuki was no longer the teenage boy in high school that overdramatized everything. He felt no need to yell and flail. Long ago he had come to terms with what he felt and he had grown. Yet he felt like a teenager again as he wondered how adults handled relationships.

"Seducing you," interrupted his mental introspection.

"You're…what?!"

"Little by little, Watanuki, I'll make you mine. I know what you feel…but you're not mine yet." A thumb dug into the arch of his foot and he gasped at the short massage that followed. "I'll break down those barriers one by one…until you belong to me. It's only fair."

"Wh-Why?!"

Their eyes met again as Doumeki went as high as to kiss his knee before moving back down to his calf. "Because I've been yours for so long already."


	4. Part 4

(Been enjoying writing this so far. Dunno how far it'll go...but I'm just going with the flow.)

He blinked as he woke up in a soft bed, surrounded by warmth. The last thing he could remember was falling asleep under a tree in the garden. There had been a cool breeze to counteract the hot sun and it had lulled him into a daze. It was still bright out, he noted, the windows open and the drapes fluttering in the breeze.

Something shifted behind him and with narrowed eyes, Watanuki looked over his shoulder. Doumeki was almost nose to nose with him, arms lightly wrapping around his waist as he slept. They were still dressed, so he knew that nothing untoward had happened, and there was a brief moment when he wondered if he was disappointed or relieved. Since his declaration two months ago, the man was moving slowly but surely on him. Their feelings weren't in doubt despite the fact that Watanuki had never confirmed it. Doumeki never spoke of any results he might have with his searching. Instead, he would come over daily, often stay the night, and…well, there was no other term that could come to mind but 'woo' him.

Doumeki hadn't been there when he'd fallen asleep, so Watanuki could only assume that he'd come in sometime during his nap and had chosen to move him to his bedroom. He sat up slowly and watched as the young man shifted, resting his head in his lap instinctively. "…Jerk," he muttered under his breath. "Why don't you touch me?" They hadn't really done anything remotely sexual and he couldn't tell if he was frustrated or not over that. Hands never went close to sliding under his clothes at his waist and those lips never moved higher than his knees or lower than just above his nipples.

The door slid open and three pairs of eyes peeked in. He smiled at Maru, Moro, and Larg. "Some lunch, you three." There was a chorus of quiet agreements and he could hear their footsteps pitter patter down the hall.

"You can stop pretending to be asleep, you know."

Golden eyes slid open and stared at the open window, light streaming into the room. "Seemed like you wanted to think."

"Did you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Then are you going to answer my question?" he replied, letting his slim fingers ease into the black hair in his lap. At the silence still ensuing, Watanuki added slightly in hurt irritation, "Or am I unattractive to you?"

"…Idiot." He looked down, glaring at the man, but there was a smile on his lips that made it hard to hate him. "You have no idea how hard it is to keep myself in check."

"I'm not asking you to treat me like a flower or glass that will break if you touch it too hard."

"And I'm not treating you that way. I want you badly…but I want to do this my way. I like to take my time." Finally Doumeki looked up at him. "I have patience."

"Are you insinuating that I don't?"

"Not as much as you like to think."

Watanuki frowned a little in annoyance, but despite entertaining the thought of pushing that head off his lap, or said archer right off the bed, he didn't do it. Even as a hand slowly slid up his calf, massaging it, he just leaned back against the headboard and let it happen. The silence was comfortable between them and his eyes had begun to half close in the pleasant sensations when he realized something was different. Those fingers…had gone past his knees. He looked down as a light touch to the underside of his thigh caught his attention, as if Doumeki had run a feather over it. "What about that patience you were just touting?"

"I'm not planning on just spreading your legs right now if that's what you think." A kiss was placed on his stomach through his kimono and a shiver went down his spine.

"Then what are you—"

"Can you stop talking for awhile?" came the amused reply and Watanuki almost crossed his arms with a glare. Doumeki's other hand rubbed up and down his back, focusing on the base of his spine. He allowed himself to get lost in the sensations, ignoring the fact that such gentle touching was actually making him quite hard. He watched through half-lidded eyes as the taller man shifted, to his knees, kissing his neck lovingly. Even with just a glance he could see that Doumeki's reaction mirrored his own and really, why didn't they just take that step?

"Patience…Kimihiro," Doumeki whispered in his ear, as if he could sense his thoughts. "Soon."

All he could think was '_you bastard_' as the featherlight touches continued and he completely forgot about lunch.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was the first time he'd stepped out of the shop in a hundred years. He had expected more radical changes, but honestly, everything looked mostly the same. Technology had progressed, naturally, but part of Watanuki was relieved that it wasn't in the realm of science fiction just yet. He really had nowhere to be, he just wanted to see. His feet took him down the well-worn paths of his youth, pausing as he looked up the stairs to Doumeki's shrine that looked the same as it had before. There was another floor added to the school building, and the park was unchanged.

"Very nostalgic," he murmured and Mokona shifted on his shoulder.

"It's been a long time since you've left the shop."

"Yes, but at least I'm not seeing space ships," he said with a chuckle. "I didn't miss everything. The truth is, though…there isn't much to get me out of the shop." He could feel the eyes looking at him from his companion and he continued, "All the friends I knew when I was young are gone except for Doumeki and the spirits that are friends can come to see me any time. Yuuko would scold me, though, I'm sure for staying in all the time. If I don't, I won't make any new friends."

"I'm fine with that."

"Of course you are," he replied, not turning around as Doumeki approached from behind. "How did you know I was here?"

"They told me you were out. I figured the park would be the last place you'd see." Arms slid around his waist from behind. "I'd prefer it if I could keep you to myself."

"There are not that many men like us, you know. What makes you think that if I met someone they'd be interested in me the way you are?"

"Have you looked at yourself, Kimihiro?"

"I try not to."

"Then you should."

"How is that answering my question?" There was no reply, but he didn't really expect one. Sometimes even now, Doumeki could be annoying in his own way. "I wonder if this means you'll no longer see my shop."

"Why would you think that?"

"You could see it before because I needed you to. You were my only contact with the outside world. Isn't that why you married Kohane-chan? Now that I can leave on my own, given what you're like…you shouldn't be able to enter after that."

"Oh, I don't know about that."

His eyes narrowed. "And what are you implying?"

"I think I'll be able to come in as I please since you'll need me for an entirely different reason." Doumeki let him go and stepped up next to him. "Besides, you've just invalidated one of your arguments against our relationship."

"What argument?" he asked in surprise, blinking.

"You can leave the shop now, so it isn't imperative now that I have children to take care of you like in the past."

Watanuki hadn't honestly given it much thought over the past two months. Doumeki was stubborn and he hadn't been able to give up, and the truth was, he didn't really want to make him either. "That isn't the only argument I had."

"The only one worth mentioning is my lifespan and I'm working on that."

"What are you going to do?" This he had to know. He didn't want Doumeki to do anything terrible, didn't want to risk losing him. He knew that if he wished, it could be done, despite the price. There were also a lot of unsavory methods out there, much worse than any price, and he was afraid for the man he loved. What if he ended hurt because he didn't see a pitfall?

"I haven't decided yet." Those golden eyes turned to him. "But you can stop worrying."

"Who says I'm worrying about something?"

"I've known you for a long time. I can tell." A soft smile touched those handsome features, the action still so rare even now that it caught Watanuki by surprise. "I'm not going to be rash like you when you were young. Trust me. When I make my decision…it will be the right one."

"How will you know if it's the right one?"

"Because I trust myself…and you."

A faint flush came to his cheeks and he pouted a little as his worry and annoyance faded a little against his will at the words. He didn't want to let himself be mollified by that! "You're annoying."

"I love you too."


End file.
